System and method for measuring liquid levels
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsTyler C. Staudinger, Jacob D. Delaney
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Abstract
A level sensor assembly includes a fiber that is configured to be at least partially disposed in a tank and to be coupled to a light source and to a light detector. The fiber includes a plurality of sensing regions spaced apart along a length of the fiber. Each sensing region of the plurality of sensing regions includes a Bragg grating configured to generate a reflection spectrum responsive to incident light and a strain layer around the Bragg grating. Each strain layer is configured to induce a strain on the fiber at a respective Bragg grating based on a temperature of the strain layer such that shifts in the reflection spectra of the Bragg gratings indicate which of the sensing regions are submerged in a liquid.
Claims20
A level sensor assembly comprising:
- a fiber configured to be at least partially disposed in a tank and to be coupled to a light source and to a light detector, the fiber comprising:
- a plurality of sensing regions spaced apart along a length of the fiber, each sensing region of the plurality of sensing regions comprising:
- a Bragg grating configured to generate a reflection spectrum responsive to incident light;
- and
- a strain layer around the Bragg grating,
- wherein each strain layer is configured to induce a strain on the fiber at a respective Bragg grating based on a temperature of the strain layer such that shifts in the reflection spectra of the Bragg gratings indicate which of the sensing regions are submerged in a liquid.
A level sensor system comprising:
- a fiber comprising:
- a plurality of Bragg gratings defined along a length of the fiber;
- and
- a strain layer around each Bragg grating of the plurality of Bragg gratings, wherein the strain layer is configured to induce a strain on the fiber at a respective Bragg grating, the strain based on a temperature of the strain layer;
- a light source coupled to the fiber to cause incident light to propagate along the fiber;
- a light detector coupled to the fiber;
- and
- a control system coupled to the light detector, the control system configured to:
- receive a signal from the light detector, the signal indicating a detected light spectrum detected by the light detector, wherein the detected light spectrum differs from a spectrum of the incident light due to reflection characteristics of the plurality of Bragg gratings;
- compare the detected light spectrum to a reference spectrum to detect a shift in a reflection spectrum of at least one Bragg grating of the plurality of Bragg gratings;
- and
- determine a level of liquid in a tank based on the shift.
A containment system comprising:
- a tank;
- a fiber at least partially disposed within the tank, the fiber comprising:
- a plurality of Bragg gratings defined along a length of the fiber;
- and
- a strain layer around each Bragg grating of the plurality of Bragg gratings, wherein the strain layer is configured to induce a strain on the fiber at a respective Bragg grating, the strain based on a temperature of the strain layer;
- and
- a control system coupled to the fiber and configured to determine a level of liquid in the tank based on a shift in a reflection spectrum of at least one Bragg grating of the plurality of Bragg gratings, the shift indicating whether a strain layer of the at least one Bragg grating is in contact with the liquid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.